


Kruna

by PlaviSafir



Category: Eurovision Song Contest RPF, Music RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: ESC, Eurovision, Eurovision 2019, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-06 14:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18852820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlaviSafir/pseuds/PlaviSafir
Summary: Netta looked outside the window, wondering what Tel Aviv had to do with Norway's dictatorship. Wondering why this trouble had even come here. She wished that Jon Ola Sand had given up on being executive supervisor of the EBU when he became Norway's dictator. But he hadn't. He wanted it all. To rule over Norway, and rule over Eurovision as well.





	1. Chapter 1

The sun was shining in Tel Aviv, people were playing on the beaches, and the 2019 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest was fast approaching. Tel Aviv had been preparing for this for a long time, ever since Netta's win in 2018, the people of Israel had been working hard to make this contest amazing, and make all the entrants feel at home.  
But the atmosphere in the Eurovision hotel was very different indeed. Something was off. Even as the entrants greeted each other, something was very wrong. No one said it, but everyone was thinking it. He was here. Norway's dictator was here. Jon Ola Sand. They knew he was in Tel Aviv somewhere, they knew he would be at the contest. They knew that at some point during the Eurovision Song Contest, they would see the man who had caused so much devastation.  
When Jon Ola Sand first became the leader of Norway, people had been hopeful. Maybe he was different, maybe he could change things. He certainly did change things, but not for the better. The world was shocked as Norway became a brutal dictatorship nearly overnight. They had invaded Denmark and Sweden already, and other countries feared they would be next. No one wanted to take down Norway, but everyone wanted someone else to do it. But the reality was, as long as nobody did anything, the Norwegian dictatorship was allowed to become stronger, more powerful. Unstoppable.  
Netta looked outside the window, wondering what Tel Aviv had to do with Norway's dictatorship. Wondering why this trouble had even come here. She wished that Jon Ola Sand had given up on being executive supervisor of the EBU when he became Norway's dictator. But he hadn't. He wanted it all. To rule over Norway, and rule over Eurovision as well.  
"So, guys," the Dutch entrant Duncan Laurence attempted to lighten the mood, "How are we all today?"  
Before anyone had time to answer him, they were interrupted by someone opening the door very loudly. It was Srbuk, and she looked very worried indeed.  
"Guys," Srbuk said.  
"What is it?" asked Conan Osíris, "Are you ok?"  
Srbuk looked around, making sure no one was around who shouldn't be hearing this. Then, trying to keep as quiet as possible but still let the other entrants hear her, she only said two words.  
"He's here."  
Everyone stopped what they were doing immediately. She didn't have to say his name to know exactly who she was talking about. Nevena sighed. Of course he was here. Of course he had to show up to make all the entrants feel nervous, just so he could feel powerful. The others hadn't expected him to show up at the hotel, they thought they would be safe from him until the actual contest at least.  
"Here?" Miki asked, looking seriously worried, "You mean... here at the hotel?"  
"Yes, he's here in the hotel," Srbuk answered.  
"Who's here?" came a voice from behind Srbuk. Srbuk spun around to find Jon Ola Sand staring at her. Srbuk's eyes widened and she froze in place. She hadn't expected that. No one had expected that. In just one moment, Srbuk regretted everything. She should have been more careful, she should have expected this, she should have checked the area again before saying anything. But it was too late for that now.  
"I... I... I..." Srbuk stammered, not knowing what to say. She looked like she was about to cry, but if Jon Ola Sand was offended, he didn't show it. Srbuk was surprised that he didn't seem angry with her, and so relieved. Jon Ola Sand just smirked and walked right past her, into the room where the other Eurovision entrants were.  
Silence. No one said a thing. No one wanted to say a thing. The problem with Jon Ola Sand was, if you say the wrong thing you could end up in a very difficult situation indeed. And no one wanted to be that person.  
"Well now, is this any way to greet a world leader?" Jon Ola said.  
It was John Lundvik who broke the silence.  
"Your excellency," he said, "Welcome to Tel Aviv."  
Your excellency. Jon Ola Sand demanded that everyone call him that. Referring to him by his real name was a big risk, only high ranking officials in Norway were allowed to do that now. Jon Ola walked around the room and looked at the other entrants. He sneered at Serbian entrant, Nevena, who was sitting on a chair and trying not to look up at the Norwegian dictator. Nevena had already met Jon Ola Sand once before, back at Beovizija, the Serbian selection show. Back then, Jon Ola Sand had threatened people there, but ultimately, nothing came of it, although the Norwegian dictator did use the opportunity to extort the Serbian government for even more money in return for him doing nothing bad to them.  
"Well well well, look who it is again," Jon Ola said, looking down at Nevena.  
Nevena said nothing.  
"And you still don't want to talk to me?" Jon Ola grinned, "How sad."  
Jon Ola was about to continue taunting Nevena, when someone else caught his eye. The Danish entrant, Leonora. He then walked over to Leonora, who was glaring at him. Of course she was, after how many Danish people the Norwegian army had killed under the command of Jon Ola himself. Jon Ola had ordered that, as retaliation for Danish resitance to Norwegian occupation. Leonora had seen things in Denmark that no one should ever have to see.  
Jon Ola Sand just laughed. Leonora didn't say anything.  
"You know what?" Jon Ola said, "I enjoyed doing it. Anyway, see you all at the contest."  
And with that, the Norwegian dictator left the room, laughing. When he left, the entrants went right back to talking to each other, right back to trying to forget about this whole nightmare. All except Leonora, who just stared ahead, blankly, Srbuk, who still seemed scared that Jon Ola had even said anything to her, and Nevena, who was trying to think of a way to stop this madness. Nevena looked down. She wanted to talk to them, to talk to the other entrants about her possible plans to stop Norway's dictator once and for all, but when she tried that back at Beovizija, no one wanted to hear it. Everyone was happy avoiding the issue, not confronting it. No one wanted to be the one to put themselves in danger to end this. She couldn't blame them, they just wanted to be safe, after all.  
Nevena looked out of the window. Rain began to fall and the skies above turned black. It had been such a beautiful sunny day before Jon Ola Sand had shown up. Nevena looked back at the other entrants, still talking to each other, with some in the corner trying to calm Srbuk and Leonora down after what had just happened. No one knew what to do. The Eurovision Song Contest was many things, but a political event was not one of them. People were here to escape from that, escape from the real world and all it's problems. But those problems had followed them here anyway.  
Maybe Nevena would have to act alone to stop this. She had failed to stop him back at Beovizija, but she was determined to get it right this time. Whether the others were with her or not, she knew that she had to do something about this. The problem with standing up to a dictator, is that sometimes you stand alone.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a little while later now. Jon Ola Sand was gone. He was out of the building for now, at least as far as they knew. Things became a little more relaxed in the hotel now that the Norwegian dictator had left. But the usual fun Eurovision atmosphere just wasn't the same. Not with him around. Not after all the things he did.  
Outside the hotel, a giant screen was broadcasting a countdown to the first Eurovision semi-final. Meanwhile, inside a dusty control room, the three members of Hatari, Matthias, Klemens and Einar, were looking at a computer screen. Klemens had a plan, it seemed, and the other two had been dragged along with him. They didn't know what he had in store, but they were here to support their friend anyway.  
"How did you even get us in here?" Matthias asked.  
That was a good point. Usually this room was always guarded. But not today.  
"Easy," Klemens replied, "All the security team are busy guarding Jon Ola right now, so there's no one here."  
"Uh... isn't that kinda bad news for us?" Matthias said.  
"Well, yes," Klemens said, "But for what I want to do here it's a great thing."  
"And what do you want to do here?" Einar asked.  
Klemens reached into his pocket and pulled out a USB stick.  
"I have a special video," Klemens said, waiting for the other two to ask him more about it.  
"What's on the video?" Matthias asked. He really didn't like where this was going.  
"It's video footage of the Norwegian army's massacre in Denmark," Klemens replied, still staring at the screen, "Leonora had it and she gave a copy to me."  
"But-" Matthias began but Klemens didn't even wait for him to finish his sentence.  
"The whole world needs to see this," Klemens said, "I'm going to swap the Eurovision countdown footage with this video. I have also set it to upload to Youtube. Everyone is going to see this."  
"Klemens," Matthias said, "If Jon Ola finds out we're behind this-"  
"He won't," Klemens said, "If he does I will take the blame for all of it, you two didn't ask for this. Now, keep quiet while I swap the footage out."  
Klemens tapped on the computer while Matthias and Einar watched on nervously, occasionally glancing towards the door to check that no one was watching them. After what felt like an eternity, Klemens stopped typing.  
"Alright," Klemens said, smiling, "It's done."  
The other two smiled too, but not for long.  
"What are you guys doing?" came a voice from behind them. In all the excitement, Matthias and Einar had forgotten to check that no one had snuck up on them. They spun around to find Australian entrant Kate Miller-Heidke looking back at them. Matthias felt a sinking feeling. They hadn't been careful enough. They shouldn't have done this, shouldn't have come here. But, they could trust Kate, right? She wouldn't tell anyone, right?  
"K-Kate!" Matthias said nervously, "We were just, we were just... we were-"  
"Hey Kate. We're going to take down Jon Ola Sand's evil dictatorship," Klemens grinned, "Are you with us?"  
Kate smiled at that.  
"Of course I am," Kate said, "Matthias, don't look so worried. Of course I'm against that evil man, I would guess everyone here is."  
"Yeah," Klemens said, "But I think only a few of us are prepared to actually do something about it."  
"What are you going to do?" Kate asked.  
Klemens grinned again. He loved explaining his plans. He told Kate about the video and how he was going to expose Jon Ola Sand to the world. Kate was impressed by Hatari's bravery, but didn't seem to think it would do anything to the dictatorship. Klemens insisted that it would, but Kate just shrugged.  
"You really think that's going to do anything? What difference do you think that will make?" Kate said, "Everyone already knew about the war crimes in Denmark, and no one did anything about it."  
Klemens' smile faded. She was right of course, everyone was too scared of the Norwegian dictatorship to do anything about it. Even after everything, even after all the bad things Norway was doing, people would rather look away and hope that it wouldn't happen to them. It took Klemens a few seconds to think of an answer to her.  
"Well... we have to do something," Klemens said, "I'm not just going to sit here in the same room as that dictator and do nothing."  
"People just don't care," Kate said, "I've heard about how people talk about Norway in Australia. As long as the Norwegian dictatorship doesn't affect them, they don't care."  
"Well people need to start caring," Klemens said, "Soon this will affect all of us. If Norway keeps getting stronger, if the dictatorship isn't stopped, then it will become a problem for the whole world. But it will be too late to do anything about it."  
Suddenly, they all heard a scream outside. That was the video playing. The footage of the war crimes in Denmark. It had started already. It was time for the people of Tel Aviv and the world to see the reality of the Norwegian dictatorship.


	3. Chapter 3

Hatari didn't have anything to worry about with Kate, of course she wouldn't tell anyone about it. She didn't seem to think it would matter, no matter how much Klemens tried to convince her how important this was. She still thought that the video would make no difference, but she admired their courage anyway.  
"We should get out of here," Matthias said, having to speak louder over the sound of the video outside, "Klemens, if you've finished what you're doing, we really should go before anyone shows up."  
"Alright," Klemens said, "I've finished, let's go."  
And with that Hatari and Kate left the building, to see what was going on outside. They looked around and saw everyone that was outside the hotel looking at the screen. The people walking around had stopped when the footage started playing. It was one thing to see it on the news, to hear about it. But it was another thing entirely to see it playing out in real time, to see the reality of what Norway had done in Denmark. Everyone knew it was bad. But they didn't know how bad.   
"Jon Ola Sand really isn't going to like this," Matthias said.  
"And that's a good thing," Klemens added.  
"Are you sure?" Kate said, "Jon Ola openly admits his war crimes. Why would he care?"  
That was true. But it had never been shown before on video like this. Maybe that would make a difference, maybe it wouldn't. But Hatari were going to try anyway.  
"It's a different thing, actually seeing it," Klemens said, looking over to the screen but having to look away again, "This is the Norway that people aren't seeing."  
Soon, a truck drove down the road, it had on it the logo of KAN, the Israeli broadcaster. It parked outside and out stepped many officials from KAN and the EBU. With them was Israeli entrant Kobi Marimi and Swedish contest producer Christer Björkman. They all stepped out of the truck and looked up at the video in disbelief. They couldn't believe this had happened, not here. Eurovision was supposed to be a non-political event. But politics were here anyway.  
Kobi saw Hatari and Kate standing there and walked over to them.  
"Guys, what's going on?" Kobi asked, "There's a video playing, a really violent one too, how did that even happen?"  
"It's a video of the Norwegian army's war crimes in Denmark," Klemens replied.  
"What!" Kobi yelled, "That's going to cause all sorts of problems! We don't need that here! Who put this video up?"  
"No idea," Klemens grinned.  
At that moment Kobi looked down at his phone.  
"Oh no," he said, "Oh no, oh no, oh no."  
"What's wrong Kobi?" Kate asked.  
"It's that video," Kobi said, "It's all over the news!"  
"Good," was all that Klemens said.  
Meanwhile, the organisers at KAN and the EBU went into the control room where Hatari had been just minutes before. Christer Björkman was with them, to try and stop the video from playing. After a few minutes of various people tapping the computer and failing to stop the video, Christer had had enough.  
"We lose our credibility with every second that video plays!" Christer yelled, "Someone just please pull the plug on that screen already!"  
And so they did. The plug was pulled, and the screen shut off. Hatari were disappointed when the screen turned off, but it was far too late to hide what had happened now. The video was already spreading far and wide. It had already gained millions of views on Youtube, and even after it was deleted for violating Youtube's guidelines, hundreds of reuploads appeared. One thing was for sure, it was going to be impossible to stop the spread of that video.


	4. Chapter 4

It felt like a long walk back up the stairs to their hotel rooms, and Hatari and Kate said nothing during it. The seriousness of the situation was beginning to dawn on them. This wasn't a game, this could have very serious consequences for all of them. Suddenly they heard a loud siren and Matthias jumped. Soon more sirens joined the first and they looked outside the window. The police were here now. In fact, police cars were surrounding the entire hotel.  
"The police," Matthias said, "The police are here. For showing a damn video."  
"Don't worry," Klemens said, "They can't catch us. I've taken every precaution."  
Matthias didn't look back at them, still staring down at the police cars. More of them were coming in to the area as they talked. This didn't look good at all.  
"The response is ridiculous," Matthias said, "All these cars for a non-violent protest. The only violence was on that video."  
More and more police cars arrived, and they saw policemen getting out of their cars to stand in front of the exit of the hotel. It sure looked like they wouldn't be allowed to leave right now. Einar looked over at Matthias, who was still looking down at all the cars. Every time he thought they would stop, that there was enough of them already, more just kept on coming.  
"Seriously," Einar said, "Don't worry about it. We have nothing to be scared of. It's just a video and most people will agree with us, even if they don't do anything, they agree with us."  
"That's right," Klemens grinned, trying to pull Matthias away from the window, "They can't catch us."  
"They won't catch you. Now stay safe you guys," Kate said, and then hugged all the Hatari members. Klemens smiled back, but he could see that Kate was worried.  
"Don't worry about us, please," Klemens said, "All resistance movements started off with small gestures like this. When the people here see what we have started, they will join us, I'm sure. We're not alone Kate, don't worry."  
Kate nodded, but she didn't believe it. It sure sounded nice, but she didn't think that people would join them in opposing Norway's dictator. After all, they had nothing to gain and everything to lose. She knew that most people would rather be safe than take a stand against tyranny, but she didn't want to say that. She didn't want to worry Hatari. She just smiled and walked back to her hotel room, telling Hatari to do the same so they wouldn't look suspicious. When they all went to bed that night, they weren't sure what exactly they would wake up to. Would everything change overnight? Would people start taking a stand against Norway? Would anything change at all? They didn't have to wait long to find out.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been just one day since the video incident, and it was all over the news and social media. The hashtag #StopNorwayNow was trending worldwide, and reuploads of the video appeared all over the net. No matter how hard the Norwegian government tried, it was impossible to stop the spread. One thing was uncertain, and that was Jon Ola Sand's reaction to this. He had not been seen in public since the incident and he had not commented on it. He hadn't reacted to people calling him out for war crimes before, but perhaps the video made this time different.  
The Eurovision entrants were still stuck in the hotel, the policemen not allowing any of them to leave, even though some of them had been scheduled to film their postcards today. The EBU had called all of the Eurovision entrants into the main hall of the hotel for what they called an 'emergency meeting.' They all sat there in the dark, most of them worried about what was going to happen next. Klemens was good at keeping his cool, or at least giving off that appearance, but Matthias wasn't doing as well and that really worried him. Klemens and Einar were worried that Matthias acting nervously would put them under suspicion. A few minutes passed, and the Eurovision entrants were still sitting there in the dark room.  
"Well," Conan said, leaning back in his chair, "We all know what this is about."  
"Yeah, that damn video," Kobi replied, "Who would even do something like that? They're putting us all in danger."  
"Standing up for what's right, you mean," Nevena replied, "The world deserves to know the truth about what Norway's dictatorship really means."  
"We can't talk about that here," that was the voice of Tom from KEiiNO.  
Nevena glanced over to see the Norwegian entrants, KEiiNO, staring back at her. She couldn't quite tell what their reaction was, whether they supported the dictatorship or not. She knew that if they didn't it would be very difficult for them to speak out, considering they had to go back to Norway at the end of all this. Nevena didn't have time to ask them, as Kobi interrupted them.  
"And what about all those police cars outside?" Kobi said, sounding annoyed, "Seriously, hundreds of them! What a waste of our tax money."  
"Yeah, at least that's all you have to worry about," Klemens said, "What about the poor people in Denmark? In Norway? In Sweden?"  
John Lundvik shuffled his feet that. Of course Norway had invaded Sweden too, but they had surrendered quickly, so it wasn't talked about as much as Denmark was. A few more minutes passed and still, nothing happened. They expected some people from the EBU to come, maybe yell at them a little for what had happened. But still, nothing.  
"Bored now," said Zena, "Is anything going to happen?"  
At that moment, someone stepped out onto the stage. The lights came on and all the entrants went silent when they saw who it was. Jon Ola Sand himself was standing there. He didn't look pleased at all.  
"Hello everyone," Jon Ola said, "We all know why I have brought you all here today."  
No one said anything. No one wanted to say anything. It was impossible to talk to Jon Ola Sand when one wrong move could land you in serious trouble. Jon Ola Sand ignored the reaction and continued with his speech.  
"One of you has tried to discredit my empire," Jon Ola said, glancing down at the Eurovision entrants, "One of you will pay for it."  
None of the entrants said anything. Jon Ola Sand looked in Nevena's direction.  
"Nevena here thought it was ok to attack me at Beovizija, Serbia's national selection," Jon Ola said, "But the Norwegian empire is merciful, you see. But despite giving her another chance, look at what she did to my empire, to my repuation. I think we all know who did this. Nevena... whatever your last name is. That video... showing that video is a serious crime and puts Norway's international relations in extreme jeopardy. But the EBU have advised me not to do anything without evidence. So I will find proof that you did this, Nevena."  
Hatari were surprised. Jon Ola Sand clearly thought that Nevena had done it, and not them. Matthias had been so worried, he was sure that the political Icelandic band would attract serious suspicion. But he couldn't say that he was relieved either. He didn't want anyone else to take the blame for what they had done.  
"You are all going to be interviewed today," Jon Ola said, "By me. Someone here must know something. And someone here will say something."  
Jon Ola walked towards where Nevena was sitting. She didn't look up at him. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her reaction. Of course, she hadn't done it. She wasn't the one who had shown the video or hacked the computer. But she supported whoever had done.  
"By the way," Jon Ola continued, "The forensics team are examining that room. I am going to take all your fingerprints, as well. Then we'll know for sure."  
There was that sinking feeling again. Fingerprints. Matthias knew they would all be caught now. It was only a matter of time. Matthias looked back at Klemens and Einar, and for the first time, he could see that they were both worried now too. They had no idea what the Norwegian dictator would do to them when he found out. Matthias looked outside the window. It was dark outside, but even in the darkness, he could still see the policemen standing there outside the hotel, preventing anyone from escaping. There was no escape, all they could do was wait for whatever the Norwegian dictator would do next.


	6. Chapter 6

It was a few hours later, and one of the rooms of the hotel had been set up so Jon Ola Sand could officially interview all of the entrants and find out who had the video.  
The first on the list for the interview was Portuguese entrant Conan Osíris. Conan walked down the corridor of the hotel, worrying about what was about to happen next. He had been worried ever since he had been told by the EBU that he would be the first one to be interviewed by Jon Ola Sand directly. He really didn't want to do this, but he didn't want to disobey the dictator either. It wasn't like he could escape from the hotel, it was still being guarded. And it wasn't like he could hide from Jon Ola either. He figured the best thing to do would be to make sure to show up to his interview on time and hope for the best. Besides, he knew he hadn't done it, in fact he had been filming his postcard at the time this happened, so he hoped there would be nothing to worry about. As he made his way to the room, he passed by British entrant Michael Rice, who was surrounded by police officers.  
"Stop that, you can't bloody take my fingerprints!" he yelled, "I haven't done anything wrong!"  
"We'll see about that," one of the policemen said as they tried to drag Michael with them. Conan walked over to them. He had to say something. This wasn't something that he could just walk past and pretend as if he hadn't saw it.  
"Hey, stop it, leave him alone," Conan said.  
"You stay out of it," the policeman snapped back. At that moment, the phone of one of the policemen rang and he held it to his ear, listening but not saying anything. That's how Conan knew the other person on the line was the Norwegian dictator himself. Jon Ola liked it that way, him giving orders and the other person not talking so that no one around could hear what they said and possibly guess what his plan was.  
"Time to go," another policeman said before turning to glare at Michael, "We'll deal with you later."  
They filed out of the corridor, leaving Michael and Conan standing there alone.  
"That was really lucky," Conan said. Michael just nodded and grinned.  
Conan and Michael walked down the corridor for a little while. Michael didn't know where Conan was going but followed him anyway. It wasn't like there was anything else to do anyway, they couldn't exactly go outside and see the sights in Tel Aviv like most of them had planned to do.  
"Hey, thanks for that," Michael smiled.  
"No worries," Conan said, "Look, I've got to go now, you-know-who has said I have to go to him. It's the interview."  
"Oh..." Michael's smile faded, "You're the first? Oh no. Well, good luck with that. Don't worry, he can't do anything to us. We're the Eurovision entrants. You know how bad it'll make Norway look if he does anything?"  
"R-right," Conan tried to convince himself that Michael was right. After all, Jon Ola Sand hadn't done anything bad to any Eurovision entrant before. Perhaps that was the dictator's weakness. But all the way as he was walking to that room, he imagined all the terrible things that could happen, all the terrible things that the dictator could order. Eventually, after what felt like forever, he made it to the door. He knew exactly who was waiting for him on the other side. Conan stepped into the room and there he was. Norway's dictator. Sitting there casually, like he hadn't done anything wrong, like he didn't care at all. He even grinned as Conan walked in.  
"Ah, Conan," Jon Ola said as he leaned back in his chair, "You're here. 10 minutes early too. I like it."  
"Th-thank you," Conan replied. It didn't seem right, thanking him, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.  
Jon Ola shuffled through some papers on his desk.  
"Right, so, you are aware of the incident took place two days ago?" Jon Ola said.  
"Yes, I know of it," Conan said.  
"But you had nothing to do with it? Did you know about it?"  
"I had nothing to do with it, and I didn't know about it."  
"Hmm..." was all Jon Ola said to that.  
Jon Ola shuffled through his papers some more, not even looking up at Conan. Conan was having a really hard time trying to tell what Jon Ola's reaction was. Did he believe him? For a while the two of them said nothing as papers continued to be shuffled.  
"It says here that you were filming your postcard when this happened," Jon Ola said.  
"That's right," Conan said.  
Jon Ola sighed.  
"Then it really was a waste of time adding you to the list, wasn't it?" Jon Ola said, "I will talk to the EBU member who added you. My time is a precious thing. Now, you are free to go. Tell Mahmood that he is next."  
"O-ok, thank you," Conan stood up as the shuffling of papers continued in the background. Conan was shocked that it was over so quickly, and he nearly ran to the door to get out of there. But it wasn't over, not for him, not for anyone. It was only the beginning. Jon Ola Sand still had many other participants to interview, and the EBU were frantically trying to save this disaster of a contest from the fallout of having Norway's dictator there.


	8. Chapter 8

Outside the interview room, a few of the Eurovision entrants were waiting for their time with the dictator. Mahmood knew he was up soon. Mostly he dreaded it, but part of him just wanted to get it over with. This whole thing seemed never-ending. Jonida seemed to sense just how worried Mahmood was.  
"Hey," Jonida said, "Don't worry about it. Just tell him you don't know anything and you'll be fine."   
"Alright," Mahmood forced a smile. He hoped that was true.  
A few more minutes passed. Mahmood shuffled in his pockets for a minute, looking for where his phone was, but he couldn't find it. He figured he must have left it in his hotel room, which was a shame since he could really use it to pass the time waiting for this. Any distraction from this mess would be good right now.  
At that moment, Chingiz walked out of the interview room. Mahmood sighed. That meant it was his turn now. Mahmood carefully opened the door and stepped inside.  
Jon Ola just sat there, sneering at him. Conan had said that his interview with the dictator had been short, and that it wasn't so bad, so Mahmood was surprised to see Jon Ola looked angrily at him, two Norwegian soldiers at his side.  
"Ah, Mahmood," Jon Ola said, "There you are."  
"Your Excellency," Mahmood said, but Jon Ola cut him off.  
"Let's just get right to it," Jon Ola replied, "Do you know anything about the video that has been circulating? It was first spotted on a TV outside the hotel. Do you know the origin of that video? Who started this? Who?"  
Mahmood just looked down. He had seen the video on the internet, it had been available for download on some website and he had watched it. But he didn't know who the source was, or who had made it play outside the hotel. And even if he did, he wouldn't tell Jon Ola who it was.  
"I don't know anything."  
Jon Ola didn't seem pleased at Mahmood's insistence that he knew nothing about the video.  
"Oh? That's strange then, isn't it?" Jon Ola replied, as he brought out a plastic bag and brought something out of it. It was Mahmood's phone. Uh oh. This was the moment when Mahmood really started to panic. He had no idea how Jon Ola had gotten that but this was really bad. The downloaded video was still on the phone. If Jon Ola had gone through the phone and saw that, then he'd think that he was the origin of the video. And then-  
"Mr- Y-your excellency, I-" Mahmood struggled to find the right words.  
"Silence," Jon Ola replied, "I don't know if you are the source of the video, I don't even know if you were the one who made it play. But I do know that you know who did. And you are going to tell me everything."  
Mahmood looked down, not wanting to look Jon Ola in the eyes.  
"Look at me when I'm speaking to you," Jon Ola said, "You have the video."  
Silence. Mahmood struggled to think of something today. Maybe it would just be better to tell the truth, that he just downloaded the video after the news came out, that he was innocent.  
"I-I don't know, actually," Mahmood said, "I-I just downloaded the video to watch it, when it became a big news story, I don't know who-"  
"Possible," Jon Ola said, "But right now you are the most likely suspect. Ok, take him away while I deal with the others."  
The two Norwegian soldiers stepped over to where Mahmood was.  
"W-wait," Mahmood said, "I didn't do anything wrong, what are you doing?"  
Jon Ola didn't say anything as the handcuffs were put on Mahmood, as Mahmood begged and pleaded that he was innocent, that he did nothing. Mahmood was taken out of the side door by the two Norwegian soldiers as Jon Ola leaned back in his chair.  
"Wait!" Mahmood yelled back, "Where are you taking me? You can't do this! I'm innocent, please!"  
"I'll deal with you later," Jon Ola said, "I have other people to interview first."  
Meanwhile, Jonida, Nevena, Duncan and Srbuk were all waiting outside the interview room, waiting for Mahmood to come out so that Jonida could go in. She was next on the list, after all. So when the door opened, they were surprised to see not Mahmood, but Jon Ola himself peeking out of the door.  
"Jonida," his voice always sounded commanding, even when he was trying to speak normally, "It's your turn for an interview now."  
"Uh," Jonida said, "Mahmood didn't come out yet?"  
"He went out the side door," Jon Ola said, "We have other things to discuss. Now it is your turn to speak with me."  
That didn't sound good at all, but Jonida had no choice, she had to speak with the dictator now. She stepped into the room with him. Awful, being in the same room as such a monster, but again, she had to do it. While she was in there she was sure she could hear Mahmood shouting in the distance. She wanted to say something but ultimately kept quiet, yelling at the dictator to free him wouldn't help matters at all, and would probably end up with her joining him. This really wasn't going to end well, she knew that much.


	9. Chapter 9

Meanwhile, Slovenian entrants Zala and Gašper were sitting in the hotel lobby, away from the other entrants. They were never one for big crowds, they usually preferred it to just be the two of them. They would have liked to see the sights together today, but of course that wasn't possible. No one was allowed out.  
"We have to do something," Gašper said finally, "Day three of the hotel being on lockdown, with no one allowed to leave. We have to stop this madness."  
"No, come on," Zala said, "You can't do anything. We can't win against him, no one can."  
"If not us, then who?"  
"Anyone else, Serhat can go fight him if he has to, but not us. Not us, please."  
"Someone say my name?" the two Slovenians turned around to find Serhat himself facing them.  
"Oh- well- Serhat!" Zala beamed, "What a... pleasant surprise."  
"Right," Serhat grinned, "It's weird, even though we've been locked in this hotel together for days, we haven't gotten to know each other properly yet."  
"Speaking of being locked in here, don't you think it's time we put in an official complaint?" Gašper said, "Jon Ola Sand can't exactly keep us all hostage in here because of some video."  
"A complaint against Jon Ola?" Serhat said, "I like it but I don't think you'll have any luck with it."  
"Well if we all do it then the EBU has to do something," Gašper said.  
Zala had to let out a chuckle at that. Complain to the EBU, which Jon Ola was the head of?  
"Jon Ola owns the EBU like he owns everything," Zala said, "Serhat is right. It's useless."  
"Ah, but I didn't say it was useless," Serhat said, "I just said an official complaint wouldn't work against him. Something else would have to be done, although what exactly, I'm not too sure."  
Just then, the doors to the lobby swung open and Jonida ran into the room. She looked incredibly upset.  
"Jonida!" Serhat said, "What's wrong? Are you okay? You're shaking, what's happened?"  
"It's Mahmood!" she yelled, "Jon Ola has taken him away! He's gone!"  
Silence.  
"Oh no," Zala said, "He's started... no..."  
"Are you sure?" Serhat said, "Why would he do that?"  
"I don't know," Jonida said, "Maybe Mahmood was the one with the video, I don't know, but he's been taken away from the hotel."  
The four of them searched the hotel for Mahmood just to be sure, but sure enough, although every other contestant was in the hotel, the Italian was not there. Word spread quickly throughout the hotel that Mahmood had been kidnapped. It shocked everyone. No one had expected this. This contest was quickly becoming a disaster. Hatari couldn't help but blame themselves. This had all started because of that video, after all.  
Later that day, Hatari and Kate were sitting in the Icelandic hotel room.  
"It's all my fault," Klemens said, looking down at the floor, "He thinks Mahmood was the leaker. I wish I'd never gotten that video from Leonora."  
"Don't say that," Kate said, "You guys did a good thing, you're not responsible for what happened to Mahmood. You showed the whole world the real Jon Ola Sand. Besides, Jon Ola can't harm any contestant, especially not before the contest. Mahmood will be back, he has to be. He'll be fine."  
"Do you really believe that?" Matthias said, "You saw that video. You know what he's capable of. You think someone like that could show mercy? Even a little?"  
Einar, who had just been sitting there in silence, finally spoke up.  
"I have... another video from Leonora," Einar said, "So... maybe we could-"  
"We can't," Matthias said, "Mahmood is gone, if any more videos come out then who knows what-"  
"Ah, but think about it a little more," Klemens interrupted, "If Jon Ola has Mahmood and another video is released, that would prove his innocence and he would have to release him!"  
For the first time that day, Matthias smiled. That made sense. If another video leaked while Mahmood was in custody, that would prove he wasn't the leaker.  
"That... that is perfect, Klemens!" Matthias grinned, "We'll prove that he didn't leak the video by leaking another one!"  
The plan sounded good, but putting it into action might be harder this time. Still, Hatari hoped to pull it off. They had to, for Mahmood's sake.


End file.
